


Cats Don't Howl

by hariboo



Category: Psy-Changeling - Nalini Singh
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 23:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2486669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rina finds a box on her porch and misses her friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cats Don't Howl

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magisterequitum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magisterequitum/gifts).



> Sure, here's another kinda out there story for this fandom. This time the characters haven't even interacted in canon, so really... a step back from my other fic in this fandom. #awkward

_"Hey, Rina?_

_"What?"_

-

Two weeks after the funeral there's a box on the porch. Rina doesn't have to guess who put it there, Dorian's smell shrouds the box as does—

Well, the point is she know what's in the box and why it's sitting on her porch like an lost toy.

Kit's pretending not to pay attention to it, to her, as he hovers by the stairs, and she pretends she's not paying attention to him pretending as she grabs it. It's heavy, not enough for her to crumble under its weight, but somehow her legs feel weak and her heart hurts so much. 

She blinks and blinks and blinks until she can pretend her eyes are dry and takes the box upstairs to her room. They never moved out of the house, even it's just the two of them now, and she never moved out of her room to the bigger one down the hall. Maybe one day, but that day doesn't feel it will be any time soon.

Kicking the door to her room open, Rina stalks to her closet and flings the door open.

The box gets shoved to the back of her closet, unopened. 

She already knows what's inside. 

Looking around her room she wonders if there should be anything she should pack up and give back to Ky— _to the Christensens_. Her eyes catch on a scarf bought at one of the market's in the city, there's an old college hoodie she forgot she borrowed, a couple of books (historical romances, Ky— _she'd_ been such romantic), a borrowed bag from a night out, and so many pictures. God, so many pictures. It'd been such a stupid project but somehow it's all she can think of now. All the pictures. Rina wants to throw up. She grabs everything and stuffs it into a bag. It gets shoved into the closet over the box.

Her room looks the same after, but it's not the same. Rina can _feel_ the empty spaces now. Spaces that used to be filled with— 

Rushing out of her room, she yells at Kit she's going for run. He calls after her, but Rina ignores him, whipping her shirt and shorts off and shifting. There's always pain and pleasure during a change, but usually the pain fades and all that's left is the joy of the animal. Today Rina's heart doesn't stop hurting as she runs into the forest. Her animal doesn't cry. Her animal runs and hunts and climbs and doesn't cry, but it does mourn. 

When she reaches the cliffs that just borders SnowDancer territory, far enough away from the Pack to smell or hear her. She wants to be alone. This was— They used to come up here a lot. When they were teenagers they used to sneak beers into their backpacks and run all the way here, climbs the cliff and talk about the day they'd be sentinels. How they'd be the best team. 

Rina shifts back, lets the hard ground dig into her knees. The cuts and scraps barely register. 

Cats growl, hiss, purr, snarl, yowl, roar. They don't cry out; when a wolf grieves it howls. For the first time ever Rina wonders what it would feel like to howl. She's no wolf, however. She's a cat, a leopard. She doesn't cry. Looking at view that she used to share and now she's all alone with Rina sits back on her haunches and yells. 

Her best friend is dead and all that's left of her fits into boxes.

She doesn't stop yelling for a long time. She yells until her voice is almost gone, her words cracked and lost on the wind.

\- 

_"Say cheese."_

_"Fuck you."_

_"Love you, beastie._

-

"Love you too, bestie."

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so making Rina and Kylie friends was just some headcanon that I came up with Jordan, who encourages my weird choices in this fandom and in all fandoms and in life. There's no canonical evidence these two girls ever even hung out, but somehow I decided to give them a sad (bc death) friendship background. There's a whole story behind this ficlet but idk if I'll ever write so have this instead. 
> 
> The use of " _beast_ ie" is on purpose. Blame Maleficent. Plus I thought bestie/beastie would be cute nicknames for them to give each other.


End file.
